Professor appointed to head Honolulu's Department of Emergency Services

Dr. James Ireland also named 'Faculty of the Year' by students training in family medicine

Mayor Mufi Hannemann has appointed Dr. James Ireland as director of Honolulu's Department of Emergency Services. That’s the second big honor for Dr. Ireland in a week, after being named “Community-Based Faculty of the Year" by students training in the Department of Family Medicine and Community Health at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa’s John A. Burns School of Medicine (JABSOM).

The City’s Department of Emergency Services oversees life-saving services on O‘ahu performed by the Emergency Medical Services Division, which provides ambulance and paramedics services, and the Ocean Safety and Lifeguard Services Division.

“Dr. Ireland is an esteemed member of our health-care community, and well-versed in the field of emergency medicine,” said Mayor Hannemann. Dr. Ireland graduated from UH Mānoa and performed his post-medical school specialty training through JABSOM’s Hawai‘i Residency Programs. As an assistant clinical professor of medicine, he is a frequent source for news reporters seeking a down-to-earth explanation of medical conditions.

At the medical school, Dr. Ireland helps to train residents (physicians), who are gaining experience in specialty areas at JABSOM’s Hawai‘i Residency Training Programs. He also serves in a number of other capacities, such as medical director of American Medical Response Ambulance, a member of the Hawai‘i Emergency Medical Services Advisory Committee, civilian medical director for the Hickam Air Force Base fire-emergency services unit, emergency physician at the Hawai‘i Medical Center, and medical director for the state Department of Transportation’s aircraft rescue and firefighting unit.

Dr. Ireland earned his bachelor’s degree at UH Mānoa and his medical degree at the Ross University School of Medicine. He performed his post-medical school specialty training at JABSOM’s Hawai‘i Residency Programs, and followed that with a fellowship (further medical specialty area training) at the Mayo Clinic.

Dr. Ireland replaces Dr. Elizabeth A. Char, a JABSOM graduate and an assistant clinical professor of surgery, who has left the Department of Emergency Services to pursue other professional interests.

Mayor Hannemann said, “Libby Char was an exceptional leader of the Emergency Services Department, enabling the agency to expand ambulance service to new areas, improve medical responses and training, oversee water safety operations, and enable the agency to tackle successfully a number of concerns, especially regarding funding from the state government.”